Reports from the Amazon: Religious Life in the Prelature of Lábrea

Our Prelature was entrusted to the Augustinian Recollects. It was founded in 1925 and in 1926 the Augustinian Recollects arrived. They had given structure, support and attention, organizing the mission commissioned by the Church, the evangelization. In the long run, several female and male congregations, the Marists, have reinforced this mission in collaboration with the Augustinian Recollects.

The history of vocations has many years in our Prelature: some religious have limited their mission places, others have definitely come out. But also, thanks to God, others arrived because God takes care of his people.

At the moment the Augustinian Recollectsare  serving three of the five parishes with all the pastoral care and social works, in addition to the mission in the interior with ribereños and indigenous people. We have a community of Augustinian Recollects Misionaries Sisters with headquarters in Lábrea, who direct a school, are in charge of the pastoral of the river and collaborate in the urban pastoral. A community of Marists is in front of a College in Lábrea and now, based in Foz de Tapauá, they work on education in that area. A community of Oblates Sisters resides in Tapauá, they are responsible for a social work with children and collaborate in urban pastoral in the river. Finally, a community of Josephine Sisters with two headquarters: Belo Monte and Foz de Tapauá, are involved in social works in the places and collaborate in urban pastoral and the river.

Therefore, three parishes out of the five that have the Prelature have the presence of religious life. The parish of Pauiní has ​​the sporadic assistance of the religious called “Pastorinhas”, but without permanent presence. And the Parish of Canutama, currently attended by the Diocese of Ponta Grossa State of Paraná, has the intention of also sending some religious communities, but until now…

The celebration of this event has served to inform and enhance the reality of consecrated life. In the three days before the celebration of the jubilee, we had masses and celebrations in the communities with the presence of men and women religious in all of them. The Vesper, on Saturday the 26th, a retreat for all the men and women religious of the city. A rich moment of spirituality, sharing, reflection and encouragement along this path, strengthened by the witness and perseverance of brother Alécio and sister Ana María. The reflection focuses on Chapter II of Pope Francis’ encyclical letter “Fratelli tuti”. The Eucharist was the moment to share the reflection, the spiritual moment that each one is experiencing.

On Sunday the 27th, fourth Sunday of Lent, illuminated by the mercy of the Father of the parable of the prodigal son, we celebrated the jubilee by accompanying the Father who killed the baby with his love poured out on the brothers and inviting everyone to the banquet because all yours is ours. For these brothers and sisters, they take what is from the Father, and share it, they donate themselves like the Father and make the mission gather the whole family, trying to attract those who are farther away.

In the entry process, the honorees took a board of their founders accompanied by their respective communities. The Augustinian Recollects were all at the altar. After the homily they renewed their religious vows. In the offertory, symbolic vocational gifts and their own charisma were presented. Tributes and words of acknowledgement and thanks at the end of the message with the delivery of a memory to each one (sister Ana Maríay and Brother Alécio). The celebration ended with the sending of the Marist brothers Luis and Ronilton, who will soon travel to Foz de Tapauá for a new mission.

With this celebration, we continue to ask to the owner of the harvest to send workers, and we prepare ourselves because this year we also have our Augustinian Recollect brothers Alfonso Lázaro and Miguel Ángel Peralta celebrate their golden anniversary. We have to determine the date…